Called
by Skala866
Summary: Moonpaw is a special cat- she is one of four chosen cats in an ancient prophecy. However, in a lone Clan that has been at peace for seasons, how can she convince the other three that it is their destiny to leave?
1. Prologue

**ALLEGIANCES**

**SUNCLAN**

**Leader: **Goldenstar- large pale golden tabby tom with white underbelly

**Deputy: **Silverfrost- pale gray tabby she-cat with ice-blue eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Owlfeather- light brown tabby she-cat with small white paws

**Warriors:**

Blazewhisker- black tom with a white belly and amber eyes

Riverstorm- long-furred dark gray tom with bright green eyes

Hollowstep- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Doveflight- pale gray she-cat

Clawfang- dark tom with yellow eyes

Lightsong- pale ginger she-cat

Swiftwing- black-and-white tom with blue eyes  
><strong>Apprentice, Moonpaw<strong>

Honeyshade- golden-brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes  
><strong>Apprentice, Thunderpaw<strong>

Tigerblaze- dark brown tabby tom

Firetail- ginger tom

Leopardfrost- dappled golden she-cat

Mistyfur- pale blue-gray she-cat

Bloodfang- black tom  
><strong>Apprentice, Cinderpaw<strong>

Duskheart- golden tabby she-cat with cream underbelly and paws  
><strong>Apprentice, Thrushpaw<strong>

Emberwing- small tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

**Apprentices:**

Moonpaw- fluffy blue-gray she-cat with bright blue eyes

Thunderpaw- pale blue-gray tabby tom with black paws

Cinderpaw- gray she-cat

Thrushpaw- ginger tom

**Queens:**

Brightpetal- ginger tabby she-cat with pale blue eyes, mother to Hollowstep's kits: Sagekit, a gray she-cat, Blossomkit, a bright ginger she-cat, and Barkkit, a dark brown tabby tom

Breezecloud- dark gray she-cat, mother to Swiftwing's kits: Icekit, a pale gray tom, and Stormkit, a gray tabby tom

**Elders:**

Frostbreeze- silver-and-black she-cat

Hollynose- black she-cat with a white dash on her chest

Nightclaw- dark gray tom

CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS

Silver- black-and-white patched she-cat with pale blue eyes

Mist- silver tabby she-cat, kittypet

Pepper- black-and-white she-cat, kittypet

Scratch- dark gray tom

Raindrop- blue-gray she-cat with white paws

Blizzard- silvery-gray tom

Bone- light gray tabby tom

Blaze- small ginger tabby tom with green eyes

Wolf- dark gray she-cat

Ash- gray tabby tom

River- pale silver she-cat with thin black stripes and a white belly

* * *

><p><strong>PROLOGUE<strong>

Two cats padded through a forest, stars clinging to their fur and spiralling around their paws every time they took a step forwards. Another cat ran after them, her sleek pelt flattened even more by wind.

"Wait!" She called. The two cats ahead turned to look at her; one of them, a she-cat, narrowed her eyes before she continued walking. The cat called out again, and this time the second one, a tom, stopped.

"What is it, Sweetberry?" He growled, swinging his head around to look at her.

Sweetberry stopped, her flanks heaving. "I've had a prophecy."

This time the she-cat looked up, golden eyes glowing in the half-light. "What is it?"

Sweetberry closed her eyes and recited, "Moon, Blood, Ice, and Dusk will rise against the Sun and change the forest forever."

The she-cat huffed. "It doesn't have any meaning."

"Wait, Sandfrost." The tom touched the tip of his tail to the she-cat's shoulder. Sandfrost spat crossly, but obeyed.

The tom narrowed his eyes. "You broke the code of the medicine cats by having kits, Sweetberry," he hissed. "Sandfrost is right to distrust you."

Sweetberry raised her head. "I promise you, Rowantail, I am not lying. And I do not regret having my kits, either. Honeyshade and Swiftwing have grown into fine warriors."

Sandfrost lashed her tail. "They should never have been born! There was a reason Dustkit died a few moons after he was kitted. It was a warning."

"Sandfrost," Rowantail reminded her. The pale she-cat lowered her head again and Rowantail turned back to Sweetberry. "Do you think this prophecy has any truth?"

"I do," Sweetberry replied, holding his gaze evenly. "SunClan has grown soft with no rival Clans to share territory with and only the occasional loner or rogue challenging them." She paused, thinking for a moment. "Maybe it's time for that to change."

Rowantail dipped his head before walking away with Sandfrost. The she-cat glared at Sweetberry as she left.

Sweetberry sat still for a moment before rising to her paws. "It is decided," she mewed to herself. "It is time for a new dawn to begin."


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

Moonkit's heart pounded as she and her brother, Thunderkit, stepped up to the Hightree. Their pelts were fluffed up with excitement even though their mother, Mistyfur, had licked them flat only a few moments ago.

Goldenstar, leader of SunClan, nodded to two young warriors sitting nearby. "Swiftwing," he meowed. The black-and-white tom sprang to his paws. "You will be mentor to Moonpaw," Goldenstar continued. "You received excellent training from Nightfeather, and although she died far too soon, I know you will pass your skills onto your apprentice."

Moonpaw padded forwards to touch noses with Swiftwing. The tom's blue eyes glowed with excitement, and Moonpaw was so happy to finally become an apprentice that she barely heard Thunderpaw's warrior ceremony. His mentor was Honeyshade, Swiftwing's sister.

Thunderpaw bounded up to her after the ceremony, bright-eyed with happiness. "Can you believe it?" He mewed. "We're finally apprentices!" He suddenly paused. "I hope we don't have to do any of the yucky jobs right away, though."

Moonpaw nodded in agreement, and heard a soft purr from behind her.

"Hi!" It was Cinderpaw and Thrushpaw, the other two apprentices. Thrushpaw's amber eyes glowed as he bounded up to touch noses with Moonpaw.

"I guess we're denmates now," Cinderpaw mewed matter-of-factly. "Come on, we'll show you the camp!"

She sprang up eagerly, only to be stopped by her mentor, Bloodfang. "Hold on," the black tom growled, lightly touching his tail to her shoulder. "We still have training to do. And then you can hunt for the queens and elders."

Cinderpaw shot a dismayed glance at the other apprentices as Bloodfang padded away, leaving no choice for her but to follow him. "I'll show you around the camp after, I promise!" She called as she squeezed through the camp entrance.

Thunderpaw let out a _mrrow _of amusement. "She's eager, isn't she?" He mused. Thrushpaw nodded in agreement.

"I wonder what tasks our mentors have for us?" Moonpaw asked. "I hope I get to do battle training."

"Mouse-brain," Thrushpaw purred. "Apprentices don't start battle training until after a moon."

Thunderpaw flicked his ears, not caring. "I'm not looking forwards to fighting that much," he confessed.

"What?" Moonpaw's jaw dropped in amazement. "How can you not want to fight and protect our Clan?"

"I want to protect the Clan, okay?" Thunderpaw hissed. "I'm just not sure that fighting's the right way to go about it."

"Let's just wait for our tasks, okay?" Thrushpaw meowed hesitantly, flicking his tail. At that moment, Honeyshade came running up.

"Thunderpaw?" She called. "Swiftwing and I would like to take you out and show you the territory, if you're okay with that."

"Of course!" Moonpaw mewed, eager to avoid an argument with her brother. "Where do we go first?"

She had been told stories that in other places, there were many Clans, and each patrolled their borders. Since SunClan didn't share any territory, they didn't send out patrols so often. Mistyfur had said that the legendary Sunstar, first leader of their Clan, had chosen this place specially – and Moonpaw could see why.

The camp was sheltered by many overhanging willow trees, and the dens were under large, protective bushes. The Hightree was where the leader spoke from, a large branch that hung over the clearing. Moonpaw dreamed of becoming leader someday. She loved seeing new warriors and apprentices named, and the other kits in the nursery were close to being apprenticed as well. Moonpaw would be happy when Icekit and Stormkit became apprentices; they had been her good friends when she had still been in the nursery.

"Moonpaw?" Honeyshade was standing in front of her. The golden she-cat flicked her tail, signalling for Moonpaw to follow. "We're about to go," Honeyshade mewed before padding to the camp entrance.

Moonpaw felt her ears flush hot as she followed the warrior. Swiftwing laid his tail across her shoulders as they left.

"Don't worry," he purred. "I was excited my first day as an apprentice, too."

This comforted Moonpaw, and she twitched her whiskers at him. "Where are we going first?"

"Honeyshade and I thought we'd take you and Thunderpaw to the Moss Clearing first. It'll be good for you two to see where you'll be training."

"What about Thrushpaw?" Moonpaw was aware the other apprentice wasn't coming with them.

"Duskheart will find another task for him," Swiftwing replied evenly. "Our apprentices won't be working together all the time, and you'll have to get used to that."

"Why do we still follow normal Clan ways if we don't have any threats?" Moonpaw asked.

"We never know if we're going to suffer attacks from rogues. It's better to be ready for anything." The black-and-white warrior stopped just outside the rim of a large area of moss-covered ground and rocks. Honeyshade and Thunderpaw had stopped as well.

"Here we are," Honeyshade purred. "This is where our apprentices do battle training. You'll train for hunting a little ways away, in a clearing surrounded by oak trees."

"Does the moss protect us if we fall while training?" Thunderpaw asked, poking the layer of moss gently with one paw.

"Yes," Honeyshade mewed, looking around the clearing. "But you won't have to worry about training until later on."

"Why don't we show them the mountains?" Swiftwing suggested, gently touching his tail-tip to his sister's flank. The golden she-cat had looked as though the Moss Clearing held more meaning for her than any other cats knew.

"Yes, of course," Honeyshade straightened and changed direction, walking away from the clearing. Moonpaw's heart pounded faster as they eventually left the forest line and saw a jagged black mountain range in the distance.

"Wow," Thunderpaw breathed.

Swiftwing purred. "Quite a sight, isn't it? It's a shame Sunstar didn't choose the mountains for our Clan territory instead."

"Our mother told us about mountain Clans," Honeyshade murmured, sorrow dulling her eyes. "She said they were swifter than leopards and stronger than even lions."

Swiftwing gently pressed his muzzle against her shoulder. "That was a long time ago," he meowed. "We can't dwell on the past."

Honeyshade blinked. "You're right. Come on, Thunderpaw, let's go back to camp. I'm sure Owlfeather will have things that need doing."

Owlfeather was the Clan's medicine cat, if a bit too caring. Knowing her, she'd probably have Thunderpaw checking the elders for ticks all day.

"Swiftwing," Moonpaw mewed after a moment. "Who was your mother?"

Her mentor closed his eyes. "Sweetberry. We never knew our father."

"Did she die?" Moonpaw was curious about why Sweetberry wasn't in the Clan now. SunClan cats rarely died of injuries.

"No," Swiftwing hissed. His mew was edged with anger and grief. "She was killed by our Clan's leader at the time, Eaglestar. He murdered her for something that should never have happened."

"What?" Moonpaw pressed.

"She was a medicine cat," Swiftwing meowed sadly. "Our birth was all that was needed to destroy her."

Moonpaw stared after him, wide-eyed, as he turned to follow his sister back to camp.


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

Moonpaw curled up in her nest, trying to sleep. Somewhere in the forest, she heard a bird call, and she silently groaned. That meant it was nearing dawn. She'd be too tired to move her paws in the morning!

She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes, pressing her ears flat in an attempt to block out any noise. It was no use, of course – she could hear Brightpetal's kits mewling in the nursery.

Suddenly, as if it had been caused by StarClan, she fell asleep – but it wasn't a peaceful sleep, like the other apprentices'. As soon as Moonpaw fell asleep, she opened her eyes again almost immediately.

She was no longer in the apprentices' den. In front of her, there was a gently flowing stream. Sunlight dappled the surface as it rushed past, throwing up small water droplets. Moonpaw gingerly dipped a paw in the water and let out a small purr as she felt the warm water. She didn't hesitate to leap into the water, drinking in the sweet smell of the sunlight.

Then the dream changed. She felt the sunlight disappear, but for some reason the water became even warmer, and thicker, dragging at the fur on her belly and legs and threatening to pull her under.

She heard a soft chuckle behind her, and warm breath stirred her ear fur. "Look around, Moonstar. This is the future of your precious Clan. How long do you think they'll be able to keep together?"

Astonished, Moonpaw opened her eyes – and gaped at what she saw. The peaceful stream had changed to a river of thick, hot blood. She squealed in fright and tried to leap away, but the current held her fast, tugging at her and forcing her to stay in place.

Looking up, she was even more horrified. Loud yowls and cries of fear and anger filled the air. She could see the shadows of cats fighting among mist. Then she turned to look beside her.

The cat who had spoken to her was a large, dark brown tabby tom. His eyes were pale, cold, amber, and his claws were long and covered with blood. The tom twitched his whiskers, grinning. "My name is Bramblefang, Moonstar. Remember me, and remember that your Clan has no future, wherever they travel."

The dream faded, and Moonpaw was in the apprentices' den again. The bright light of dawn drifted in through the entrance and gaps in the wall. Cinderpaw was asleep beside her, curled up into a tight bundle of fur. The gray she-cat's bushy tail was curled over her nose.

Thunderpaw's nest was empty, and his scent was stale – he must have been awake for a while. Moonpaw groaned and stretched her legs. They felt stiff and sore, as though she had really been caught in the river of blood.

"Cinderpaw, wake up," she meowed, prodding the apprentice with a paw. "It's dawn."

"What?" Cinderpaw muttered. She yawned. "All right, fine. Do you want to see if we're allowed to go on the dawn patrol?" Cinderpaw stood up and arched her back, stretching.

Moonpaw shrugged. "Sure, why not? Maybe we'll catch something." The first chills of leaf-bare had begun to take their grip on the forest, and prey was becoming scarce. Since there were no other Clans, SunClan's patrols were mostly for hunting.

Cinderpaw and Moonpaw padded out to the center of camp where the deputy, Silverfrost, was busy organizing the dawn patrol.

"Honeyshade, Tigerblaze, you can go on patrol with Clawfang." Turning her head, she saw the apprentices. "Moonpaw, you can go too."

Moonpaw glanced at Cinderpaw and flicked her tail in goodbye as she went to join the patrol. Honeyshade looked at Clawfang. "Where are we heading first?"

The black tom glared at her. "We're going to the Oak Clearing. That's where the prey will be headed during leaf-bare."

Honeyshade nodded, twitching her ears. "Is there any chance we'll run into a rogue or loner?"

Clawfang shook his head. "Not likely. The only quarrel we have with them is over who gets prey during leaf-bare. Of course, we will, again. We're too strong for them to face us."

Moonpaw flattened her ears. "Why fight over hunting rights? Isn't there enough to go around?"

Clawfang stopped the patrol and turned to glare at her. "There's never enough to go around. If your mentor wasn't so mouse-brained, you would know that by now."

Now Honeyshade was staring at the tom, shocked for a heartbeat. Then her eyes narrowed and she fluffed out her fur. "My brother isn't mouse-brained," she spat.

Clawfang clearly saw that the fight was about to get too far. He straightened up and acted like nothing had happened. "We'd better go faster if we're going to make it to the Oak Clearing in time."

Honeyshade let out an angry hiss, but she followed him. Moonpaw guessed that it wouldn't be a good idea to fight now with Owlfeather's herb supplies running so low, and with leaf-bare approaching. The cold weather would mean whitecough and greencough. Blackcough was rare, but a deadly disease. She'd heard that any cat who caught it didn't have any chance of living.

She hadn't even realized that they'd reached the Oak Clearing until she felt the soft bed of brown leaves crunch under her paws. Clawfang shot a glare at her. "We'll be lucky if you don't scare off all the prey," he hissed, before padding off in another direction.

Moonpaw looked down at her paws, and Honeyshade stepped up beside her. "Don't worry about Clawfang," she murmured. "He's always like this. It's not your fault."

Moonpaw would have thought the she-cat was telling the truth any other time, but she knew that Honeyshade was still upset that Clawfang had insulted Swiftwing. Instead, Moonpaw nodded and padded away, glancing up at one of the tall oak trees.

A thrush was perched on a low branch, rubbing its beak along its wing. Moonpaw carefully began to scale the tree, digging her claws into the rough bark. At the last possible moment, she pounced, paws outstretched. The thrush startled and flew away. Moonpaw landed heavily on the branch, missing the jump and falling sideways. She closed her eyes as she braced for the fall.

Suddenly, pain shot through one of her hind legs. Moonpaw clenched her jaw and shut her eyes, digging her claws into the ground. Then she felt something in front of her, and opened her eyes reluctantly.

A silver-gray tom was standing in front of her, his eyes full of concern. "Are you all right?" He meowed.

Moonpaw shook her head. "I fell," she mewed.

The tom looked her over. "Are there any others here?"

Moonpaw nodded. "I'm here with a patrol from SunClan, but they're hunting somewhere else."

The tom flicked an ear at her. "We'll see about that." He suddenly gave a loud yowl. A sparrow flew away from a higher branch in the tree, and the clearing suddenly grew very quiet. Then Moonpaw heard leaves crunching under paws, and Honeyshade appeared in the clearing. Her eyes widened as she saw the tom.

"Moonpaw, are you okay?" Honeyshade mewed? "Did this rogue attack you?"

The silver tom shook his head. "She fell out of a tree trying to catch a thrush. For some reason she didn't want to call for help."

Clawfang and Tigerblaze came up then. Clawfang's eyes narrowed instantly as he spotted the rogue. "You're not welcome here," he hissed. "What are you doing with one of our apprentices?"

The tom blinked. "I found her injured. I didn't hurt her."

Moonpaw nodded. "He's right. It was my fault for trying to jump at the thrush when I was still climbing the tree."

Clawfang hissed. "Go. Now. You have no business in SunClan's territory."

The strange tom nodded and flicked his tail as he turned to leave. "Do you really expect to live in peace forever?" He called as he left. "Things are changing. Perhaps it's time for SunClan to change, too."

Moonpaw watched him go, confused. His words sounded similar to what Bramblefang had told her in her dream. Was SunClan falling apart? Now that the distractions of hunting were gone, she could dwell on Bramblefang's words. He had called her Moonstar, a leader's name. Did that mean she would lead SunClan one day?

The apprentice shook her head. She shouldn't have been thinking about that now. She had almost forgotten about her leg – until she tried to move, of course.

Honeyshade pressed her nose against Moonpaw's shoulder. "We'll help you get back to camp. I'm sure Owlfeather will be able to fix your leg."

Moonpaw nodded as Honeyshade and Tigerblaze helped support her as she walked. She held her injured leg off the ground, hopping along as best as she could on three legs.

When they finally reached camp, Thrushpaw and Duskheart were returning from an early training session. Thrushpaw immediately darted over as he saw Moonpaw limp towards the medicine den.

"Are you okay?" He meowed, his wide hazel-coloured eyes full of concern.

Moonpaw would have replied, but she could see something else in his eyes too. In response, she narrowed her eyes and flattened her ears, turning away from Thrushpaw and making it the rest of the way to the medicine den. She was too young to get romantically involved with another cat. She'd only been an apprentice for a short time! For a moment, Moonpaw wished she was a kit again, when the only thing she had to worry about was the other kits teasing her.

She looked inside the den. Owlfeather was there, messing with some sort of herb mixture. Moonpaw thought she recognized the scents of borage and juniper berries, but she couldn't be sure.

The medicine cat looked up as she approached. Immediately, Owlfeather's eyes widened and she leapt to her paws, immediately at Moonpaw's side, sniffing her injured leg.

"Are you alright?" Owlfeather asked.

Moonpaw shook her head. "I fell out of a tree while hunting. My leg really hurts when I put weight on it."

Owlfeather helped Moonpaw lie down in a soft nest of moss and ferns, and then disappeared for a moment as she checked her herb store. Then she promptly turned around, dropping a pile of herbs in front of Moonpaw.

Moonpaw sniffed it cautiously. "What is it?"

"Feverfew and oak leaves," the medicine cat replied, turning back to the herbs she was working with before. "It'll help with the pain of your leg and stop an infection from setting in. I'll get a closer look at the injury once I've finished this mixture for Lightsong."

"Why does Lightsong need a mixture?" Moonpaw asked, beginning to chew the herbs.

"She's expecting kits," Owlfeather replied. "She'll have to take borage and juniper every few days to keep up her strength."

"Oh?" Moonpaw swallowed the herbs and swiped her tongue around her jaws. It hadn't tasted all that horrible, despite what she had heard from the other apprentices as a kit. Apparently there were lots of herbs that tasted completely awful.

Owlfeather nodded. "Just let me get the herbs to her and I'll see to your leg." She didn't take long, and when she came to check on Moonpaw again, she was holding a small, thick branch in her jaws. She set it down in front of Moonpaw and sniffed at the apprentice's injured leg, then prodded it with a paw to check for signs of injury.

Moonpaw sucked in a breath as Owlfeather pressed at a spot on her leg. The medicine cat nodded. "I need you to hold the stick in your jaws. Your leg is dislocated. I can fix it easily enough, but it will be painful. Bite down on the stick when it begins to hurt."

Moonpaw nodded, her heart pounding in her chest with worry. Bracing herself as Owlfeather laid her forepaws against her leg, she gripped the stick tightly.

Then Owlfeather pressed down; Moonpaw heard a loud snap and felt the stick break in her jaws as pain lanced through her. Then it was gone. Moonpaw was lying in the nest with her eyes half-closed. Owlfeather placed a few poppy seeds in front of her. "Lick these up," she meowed gently. "You can sleep for now. I'll let Swiftwing know that you won't be training today."

Moonpaw obeyed, swallowing the poppy seeds and closing her eyes. She knew she should regret it, but part of her wanted to see Bramblefang again so she could ask him about what he'd said earlier.

She didn't dream, however. When she did, her thoughts had drifted to the strange rogue she had met in the forest, and what he'd said about SunClan changing.

Moonpaw suddenly jerked awake. The medicine den was bathed in the soft glow of the moon, and she could make out the shape of Owlfeather asleep in her nest at the den entrance. Something about the camp seemed off, but Moonpaw was more troubled with another thought.

The rogue had never said how he'd known about SunClan. At best, rogues would refer to them as just a Clan. Distinction didn't matter to them. And besides, none of the others had addressed him by name – not even Clawfang, who was almost a senior warrior. She'd never heard of him before, either. Granted, she hadn't known a lot during the short time she'd been in SunClan, but she and Thunderpaw had used to go listen to the elders and queens talk about various rogues in the territory when they were kits.

Moonpaw guessed it was close to dawn. It was light enough to be moonhigh, but she could see the change in the horizon. She stretched; her leg was stiff and sore, but she knew it would recover eventually.

A noise from outside alerted her. She looked up to see Mistyfur slipping into the medicine den. The she-cat immediately padded over and crouched beside Moonpaw, giving her daughter's ear a quick lick.

"Thunderpaw told me about your injury," the she-cat meowed, curling her tail around Moonpaw. "Are you alright?"

Moonpaw nodded. "I'll be fine soon enough. Then I can return to training."

Mistyfur's eyes grew sad for a moment. "Swiftwing thinks it'll be better for you to stop training for a few moons, to give your leg time to heal."

Moonpaw flattened her ears in dismay. "What? I'll be behind the other apprentices?"

"I know." Mistyfur smoothed the apprentice's fur with her tail. "It won't be long until you'll be able to practice with the others like normal."

"But what will I do?" Moonpaw meowed miserably. "I can't just sit around and do nothing all day!"

"No, you can't," Mistyfur agreed. "But I'm sure Owlfeather will find something for you to do. You could help the other apprentices with their duties if you want; Swiftwing just wants you to stay out of training."

Moonpaw huffed and rested her head on her paws. "Sure," she muttered. "Why not?"

Mistyfur sighed and rested her muzzle on top of Moonpaw's head. "It'll be fine," she murmured. "You'll be a great warrior someday."

Moonpaw closed her eyes. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but when she woke up Mistyfur was gone and the camp outside was bathed in sunlight. She could hear Silverfrost organizing the day's patrols; Hollowstep, one of the senior warriors, would be leading the dawn patrol, with Blazewhisker, Swiftwing, and Firetail. Moonpaw could see her mentor coming out of the nursery, where he had been checking on his mate Breezecloud. Their kits, Stormkit and Icekit, had been born a moon ago and were already very active and playful.

Moonpaw noticed that Silverfrost hadn't put any apprentices on the day's patrols. She assumed it was because of her accident yesterday – the Clan wouldn't want to risk any more apprentices missing out on their training.

Sighing, Moonpaw managed to heave herself to her paws, wincing as she tried to flex her stiff leg. She would have to ask Owlfeather for some more herbs later. The other apprentices would probably be sitting in camp for the most part, so she decided that she would help them, like Mistyfur had suggested.

However, she didn't even glance at Thrushpaw as she left the medicine den. She didn't want his sympathy. Thunderpaw, however, came right up to her.

"You shouldn't overwork yourself," he meowed, looking her over. "Your leg is still kind of twisted, so you'd better be sure to rest later." Then he left, trotting off towards the medicine den.

"Nice to see you, too," Moonpaw muttered, but she smiled slightly. Thunderpaw seemed very dedicated to helping Owlfeather, and, in her mind at least, it was possible that he could become her apprentice.

She caught sight of Cinderpaw looking mopey and trudging off towards the elders' den. "Cinderpaw!" Moonpaw called. Her friend looked up, her hazel eyes brightening at the sight of Moonpaw.

"You're okay!" Cinderpaw purred, bounding up to Moonpaw. She flicked her tail excitedly. "Do you want to help me look after the elders? Bloodfang doesn't want me training today, so he's decided to let me do all the boring things. It would be more fun with someone to help me." As she said this, she looked pleadingly at Moonpaw.

Moonpaw let out a _mrrow_ of laughter. "Sure. Mistyfur said I should help out around camp anyways."

"Great!" Cinderpaw mewed. The gray she-cat looked happier already. They padded off to the elders' den together, only to be stopped by a loud yowl. All heads in the clearing turned to look towards the nursery, where Brightpetal was standing, looking worried. Moonpaw was stunned by what she said next.

"My kits are gone!"


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

All the cats seemed to react at once. Cinderpaw was sent to go fetch Hollowstep from his patrol; luckily, the elders excused her, saying they could wait a bit longer for their new bedding. Silverfrost organized two search patrols to go find the kits, sending them out in different directions.

Clawfang, of course, disagreed. "It was that rogue from before! He took them!" The tom's black fur was fluffed up and his amber eyes blazed with anger.

Silverfrost narrowed her eyes and turned to face him as the patrols went out. "We have no proof," she meowed firmly. "The kits may have just decided to explore."

Clawfang let out an angry hiss, but didn't say anything else. The deputy's word should be trusted – he of all cats should know that.

Brightpetal lay down shakily in the nursery entrance, staring at her paws with worried blue eyes. Breezecloud, her denmate, curled her tail around her friend, reassuring her.

Moonpaw didn't notice that Thrushpaw was beside her until she heard his voice. "Why have you been avoiding me?" He meowed. Moonpaw jumped, startled, and stared into his eyes. They were emotionless, without any trace of the affection she had seen in them before.

"It's difficult to explain," she murmured, walking past him. She really didn't want to talk to him at this moment. When he tried to follow her, she excused herself. "I have to look after the elders," she meowed, and walked as quickly as her leg would allow, limping through the camp entrance and to the tree growing nearby, where they collected moss from. Moonpaw raised a paw and half-heartedly clawed clumps of moss off, picking thorns and insects out with her teeth so the elders wouldn't complain.

Moonpaw picked up her bundle of moss in her jaws and was about to return to camp when Hollowstep's patrol rushed past her. Moonpaw couldn't pick up any scent of prey from them – clearly they hadn't been able to catch anything.

After waiting a few heartbeats to see if there were any more cats coming, she went back inside the camp and carried the moss to the elders' den.

Frostbreeze, the oldest elder, blinked gratefully at Moonpaw and shifted so the apprentice could remove the dirty bedding. The once-soft moss was ragged and dirty, and Moonpaw carried it out as far as the dirtplace before dropping it there. This time, though, she didn't go back to camp right away; instead, she went around to the moss tree, getting another mouthful of moss and returning to camp.

Replacing the bedding was easy enough. The elders thanked her for her time as she left, but it didn't drive away her thoughts of the missing kits… or Thrushpaw.

One of the search patrols came back. Doveflight, its leader, looked tired and upset. "We didn't see them at all," she meowed to Silverfrost. "No scent or sight of the kits."

Silverfrost looked disappointed but nodded, dismissing Doveflight and her patrol. It wasn't long until the second patrol, led by Riverstorm, returned as well. Moonpaw noticed that her father looked equally dismayed. He reported to Silverfrost, but this time the deputy's eyes grew wide.

"I want a full patrol!" She shouted suddenly. "Blazewhisker, Firetail, Leopardfrost, Bloodfang, Duskheart, Cinderpaw, come with me."

Goldenstar poked his head out of his den, where he had been talking with Owlfeather and Thunderpaw. "Silverfrost, what's wrong?"

The deputy turned her head to look at him. "Riverstorm and his patrol picked up fox-scent in the forest… mingled with kit-scent. We need to find out what's happened to them."

At this, Brightpetal let out a wail and pressed her muzzle against Hollowstep's shoulder. The queen looked small and frightened.

Moonpaw turned, ready to bring food to the elders, when she heard someone call her name. She turned and saw Thunderpaw bounding towards her. "Can you meet me in Owlfeather's den?" He yowled as he ran past, followed closely by Owlfeather. Moonpaw, confused, limped after them.

Owlfeather turned to her immediately, with a bundle of herbs in her jaws. She placed the bundle down in front of Moonpaw. "I need you to take these to Lightsong," she meowed. "Then come back. We'll need all the help we can get preparing herbs if the kits are injured."

As Moonpaw left, she heard Owlfeather meow to Thunderpaw, "Now, what will we need for injuries?"

"Comfrey, horsetail, goldenrod, and cobwebs to stop the bleeding," he replied. Moonpaw made her way across the clearing as fast as she could. The sky was darkened and cloudy, and she could smell rain lingering on the air.

When she reached the nursery, Brightpetal was crouched in the corner, with Lightsong and Breezecloud pressed against either side of her. Moonpaw silently padded over and dropped the herbs in front of Lightsong. The queen quietly mewed her thanks and returned to calming down Brightpetal.

Moonpaw felt a pang of sorrow for Brightpetal. What would happen if the kits were found dead? She pushed this thought out of her mind as she left the nursery and headed for the medicine den. Owlfeather and Thunderpaw were still inside; Thunderpaw was chewing up some horsetail for a poultice.

Owlfeather looked up as Moonpaw approached. "Moonpaw, can you chew up some marigold? The leaves are over there." She nodded to a small pile of leaves near Thunderpaw. Moonpaw obediently sat down behind them and started chewing them. The horsetail Thunderpaw had would also be part of the poultice, she guessed, since she knew at least that both marigold and horsetail were put on wounds from the few times she'd visited Owlfeather as a kit.

_Thunderpaw always had a passion for healing, though, _she thought, glancing sideways at her brother, who was determinedly chewing leaves and spitting them out onto a large dock leaf in front of him. Moonpaw spit the marigold onto the dock leaf as well when she had finished, looking to Owlfeather to see what she should do next. In response, the medicine cat muttered, "Could you go fetch some cobwebs? They should be easy to find just outside of camp." Then she returned to her work.

Moonpaw shrugged and stood up, heading for the camp entrance again. However, she was interrupted by the patrol returning. Leopardfrost was at the head of it, looking very solemn; Firetail and Duskheart followed her. Then Silverfrost and Blazewhisker came through.

Each one had a kit in their jaws. The kits were mewling pitifully, and they looked frightened. Moonpaw was glad to see that Barkkit and Sagekit were okay – but where was Blossomkit?

Then she saw. Duskheart walked through the camp entrance, followed closely by Cinderpaw. Duskheart was carrying Blossomkit's limp body. The small tortoiseshell kit's fur was stained with fresh blood.

Brightpetal let out a loud, anguished cry and ran over to Blossomkit as Duskheart set her in the middle of camp. Brightpetal pressed her muzzle into the dead kit's fur. Silverfrost took Barkkit and Sagekit over to the nursery, where Lightsong looked over them and made sure they were alright.

Owlfeather and Thunderpaw started tending to the injured cats from the patrol. Thunderpaw brought Brightpetal a poppy seed to help calm her down and help with the shock of Blossomkit's death.

Goldenstar stood outside his den, looking sad for a moment, before leaping up onto a low branch in the Hightree, where he made his announcements from. "Cats of SunClan!" He called. "I ask you to gather here for a Clan meeting."

The cats responded to his call, making their way to sit in front of the Hightree. Many of them murmured their sympathies to Brightpetal as they passed her. The ginger queen was crouched beside Blossomkit's body, unmoving.

Goldenstar waited for the crowd to quiet down before continuing. "I know this is a terrible loss," he meowed, "but we will move on. Silverfrost has told me that the fox has been driven out of our territory towards the mountains." The large golden tom scanned the crowd and met Moonpaw's gaze before turning his attention back to the cats gathered in front of him. "As most of you may know, Moonpaw has suffered an injury that will put her behind in her training for at least a moon."

Moonpaw lowered her head and flattened her ears as a few cats turned their heads to look at her. Goldenstar continued. "However, we cannot wait for her to recover. SunClan needs more apprentices, and because of this, we must take action. Icekit and Stormkit are six moons old, and ready to receive a mentor. Icekit, Stormkit, please step forwards."

The two kits bounded up to the Hightree, their eyes glowing with excitement. Breezecloud and Swiftwing stood nearby, tails entwined. Their pelts were fluffed out with pride.

"Icekit, you are old enough to be apprenticed. From now on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Icepaw. Leopardfrost, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had a good mentor in Blazewhisker, and I hope you will pass down all you know to Icepaw."

The dappled she-cat stepped forwards and touched noses with Icepaw. The white-furred tom blinked and stood silently beside her while Stormkit received the name of Stormpaw, with Hollowstep as his mentor.

"Icepaw! Stormpaw!" The gathered cats began to shout the names of the new apprentices. Many cats went over to congratulate them. Stormpaw's eyes were glowing with pride at having a senior warrior as his mentor. Moonpaw felt Goldenstar had made a good choice; Leopardfrost was a younger warrior, but she was patient and kind to most cats and would be a good match for Icepaw, who was also very calm. Hollowstone would be able to teach Stormpaw many important things, but he wouldn't try to stoke the apprentice's ego, and Stormpaw would hopefully lose his ambition over time.

As Moonpaw trailed away from her current thoughts, she caught sight of Clawfang standing at the edge of the crowd, eyes narrowed. The black warrior clearly wanted an apprentice of his own, but Moonpaw hoped that would never happen. She thought that Clawfang wasn't suited to be a mentor and just wanted an apprentice to increase his amount of followers – and to raise his chances of becoming deputy. SunClan was rather lax with a few parts of the warrior code, it was true, but a cat was still required to have had at least one apprentice before being appointed deputy.

Owlfeather padded over to Moonpaw. "Thanks for your help," she meowed. "You can go rest now if you want – I don't want you overworking your leg."

Moonpaw nodded and flicked her tail in goodbye. She didn't say that she had been half expecting Goldenstar to announce that Thunderpaw would now be medicine cat apprentice, but there was a lot going on in the Clan right now. Besides, Thunderpaw would probably want to wait until he was absolutely sure he wanted a change in mentors.

She passed by Blossomkit's body on her way to the apprentices' den. Pausing for a moment, she pressed her nose to Blossomkit's flank and murmured a few words of goodbye. Brightpetal sat silently, watching her. The queen wasn't paying attention to her other two kits at all, even though they were pressed against her, staring at Blossomkit's body with wide eyes. Moonpaw pulled back from Blossomkit and continued on her way, curling up in her nest. She tucked her tail over her muzzle and closed her eyes, slowing her breathing.

She was asleep in moments. Soon, Moonpaw found herself in the same place from her other dream. Now there were small fish darting through the current in the stream. Without warning, Bramblefang emerged from a clump of ferns, a dead mouse in his jaws.

He dropped the mouse at her paws. "Eat." It was more of a command than a request, so Moonpaw really had no choice. She obediently bent her head to take a bite from the mouse, aware that her injured leg was held slightly above the ground and awkwardly twisted to the side. She could feel Bramblefang's eyes on her the entire time she was eating the mouse.

The tom narrowed his amber eyes. "You're troubled."

Moonpaw huffed, licking bits of meat from her whiskers. "Troubled? That's hardly the right word. One of our kits was recently killed by a fox, and I fell out of a tree hunting. Not to mention I'm having to avoid one of my denmates."

She could have sworn Bramblefang was supressing a laugh. "Avoid? Why? Have they done something wrong?"

Moonpaw twitched her ears. "His name is Thrushpaw, and… I think he likes me. That's why I'm avoiding him. I don't want to get caught up in all that now – I'm too young."

Now Bramblefang did laugh. "You're avoiding him because he likes you? That's hardly a good reason. Just talk to him like normal and you'll just be friends with him. Any feelings he has for you will blow over eventually. They always do."

Moonpaw stared at her paws. "Yeah… I guess."

"It's better to have friends than enemies," Bramblefang reminded her. "This Thrushpaw will become more resentful towards you if you keep avoiding him."

"So," Moonpaw meowed, straightening up. "What's the deal with this dream? Why am I here again? Are you going to give me another prophecy about how my Clan is doomed, or what?"

"No," Bramblefang hissed quietly. "Not a prophecy, anyways. Your Clan is doomed, though. It has been from the moment the four Clans joined together to make one Clan."

Moonpaw looked up and narrowed her eyes slightly, confused. "What?"

Bramblefang sighed. "Once, there were four Clans in this forest. They were called ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan. Coming to SunClan's territory was the third time they'd had to move – and more recently it had been because of fighting among themselves. They'd hoped it would get better, but it didn't – so the leaders of the four Clans made a decision. They would each gather the strongest cats from their individual Clans and drive out the rest, to ensure safety. The cats chosen by the leaders became SunClan, a single Clan with no threat from other Clans around them. As for the cats that were driven out, many of them fled to the mountains or died on their own in the wild."

Moonpaw blinked. "Why? Didn't they know how to hunt?"

"They did," Bramblefang sighed, "but they were alone. It was a horrible thing for them, to be alone without the support of their Clanmates that they'd had before. They lost the will to live."

"But why was it such a bad thing that there was one Clan?" Moonpaw pressed. "Wasn't it good, now that they didn't have to deal with battles?"

"In many ways it was, but the Clan leaders made a mistake. There had always been four Clans, and there always should have been. With no threats, the SunClan cats became lazy and confident that they weren't in danger at all. Prey became the only real focus. Have you ever seen any of the apprentices in your Clan going out and practicing battle moves? Have you seen any patrols marking SunClan's borders?"

Moonpaw opened her jaws to answer, but Bramblefang stopped her. "Sooner or later, SunClan is going to destroy itself," the tom hissed. "A few moons ago, one of the cats in StarClan received a prophecy. We have reason to believe that you were one of the cats mentioned."

"Me?" Moonpaw was shocked. "I'm not special. Why would I have anything to do with a prophecy?"

Bramblefang flicked his tail nonchalantly. "Because you are one of the only cats who can see the destruction that is happening in SunClan. You will have to be careful these next few moons, Moonpaw. You said that a SunClan kit was killed by a fox?"

Moonpaw nodded. "The Clan was very upset about it."

"They have never faced any real threat before, and the few times they have, they took care of it quickly enough. You must also watch for threats from within. Those can be even more deadly."

Moonpaw narrowed her eyes. "Why place all of this burden on me? Why not just tell this to Owlfeather? You have no proof that I'm part of some prophecy. SunClan is strong. We will recover."

Bramblefang let out an irritated hiss. "Owlfeather wouldn't understand! You do!"

Moonpaw flicked her tail. "Enough. I've had enough of this. I'm done with you and this stupid prophecy. I'd like to wake up now."

The dark brown tabby sighed and closed his eyes. "Very well. It's almost sunhigh. Just take care, Moonpaw. It's very important that nothing severe happens to you."

Moonpaw was about to reply, but she was already back in the apprentices' den, blinking into the bright rays of sunlight that bathed everything in a soft golden glow.

For a moment, she almost forgot her conversation with Bramblefang – but not quite.


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Moonpaw sighed as she looked at the dwindling fresh-kill pile. Nearly a moon had passed since her accident and Blossomkit's death. Her leg was almost healed, and Bramblefang hadn't appeared in any more of her dreams. Things should have been going well for her.

But they weren't. Instead, the threat of leaf-bare was now obvious. The air had grown much colder, and prey was scarce now. The only thing the hunting patrols managed to find now was an occasional mouse or squirrel. Many cats were beginning to go hungry, including the queens.

Moonpaw didn't think Goldenstar had made the right decision when he had announced that Clawfang would be helping Silverfrost organize patrols. The black tom had mostly taken everything into his own paws, acting too much like a deputy for Moonpaw's liking.

Icepaw and Stormpaw, however, were coming along well in their training. Leopardfrost was doing well as a mentor, making sure that Icepaw knew what he was doing before moving on to something else. The young tom would be a good hunter when he was older.

Moonpaw twitched her ears in annoyance as she remembered what Bramblefang had said to her in her last dream, about SunClan becoming lazy and forgetting the warrior code.

Cinderpaw padded up behind her. "What's up? Owlfeather said your leg is almost healed. We'll be training together in no time!"

Moonpaw nodded. "I guess. I just wish I could do something instead of standing by and watching the Clan starve."

Cinderpaw shrugged. "We'll find a way to survive. That's one of the benefits to our Clan. The only thing we have to worry about this leaf-bare is no prey and the occasional greencough. We don't have any Clans at our borders demanding hunting rights in our territory or starting pointless fights."

Moonpaw blinked at her in astonishment. Didn't Cinderpaw know that there should have been four Clans all along? Did she know that her ancestors had turned cats weaker than themselves away without a second thought?

She shook off the thought. They had survived for generations. Why would there be any reason for SunClan to die off now? The prey would return soon, and everything would be alright.

As Cinderpaw ran off to talk to Thunderpaw, Moonpaw heard more pawsteps behind her. It was Lightsong. The pale tabby looked uncomfortable, and Moonpaw pricked her ears, wondering why the queen would want to talk to her.

"I'm worried about Brightpetal," Lightsong meowed. "We all are. She barely pays attention to her other kits, and Mistyfur was wondering if you could talk some sense into her."

Moonpaw scoffed. "Mistyfur just doesn't want me to feel bad because I can't do anything to help my Clan."

Lightsong flicked her tail impatiently. "But you can help Brightpetal! Do you really want Barkkit and Sagekit to be neglected by her?"

Moonpaw closed her eyes. She knew Lightsong was making sense, but part of her just wanted to sit and continue doing nothing. Finally, she opened her eyes again, meeting Lightsong's amber gaze. It wasn't right for the queen to get so stressed right now, especially when she was already almost two moons into her kitting.

"I'll do it," Moonpaw meowed.

"Oh, thank you!" Lightsong purred, touching her nose to Moonpaw's ear. "I really appreciate it. I hope you can make Brightpetal realize that her other kits still need her."

"Hopefully," Moonpaw muttered to herself as she watched Lightsong walk away. The pale tabby queen seemed happier, and Moonpaw felt that she had done the right thing in agreeing to help with Brightpetal. It was natural for Lightsong to be worried about her friends.

Brightpetal had apparently gone out on a patrol at sunhigh, and wouldn't be back until later. As Moonpaw padded past the nursery, she saw Lightsong lying on her side and telling a story to Sagekit and Barkkit. They were watching her with wide, eager eyes, and Sagekit seemed to be cutting in often to ask questions about the story. At least, that's what Moonpaw assumed she was saying, until she got closer.

"When's Brightpetal coming back?" The gray she-kit asked, watching Lightsong with curious green eyes. Lightsong sighed and curled her tail around Sagekit, continuing her story. Moonpaw felt her heart clench in sympathy for the kits. It was obvious they missed Brightpetal and Blossomkit.

Thunderpaw padded up to meet her as she neared the apprentices' den. "Guess what?" He mewed excitedly. Moonpaw pricked her ears, and Thunderpaw took that as an invitation to continue. "Owlfeather's agreed to take me on as her apprentice!" He meowed. "Goldenstar will announce it tomorrow at sunhigh!"

Moonpaw purred and rubbed her muzzle against her brother's. "I'm so happy for you! Have you told Mistyfur yet?"

Thunderpaw grinned and shook his head. "I'm going to as soon as she gets back from the hunting patrol, but Riverstorm knows and he said he was proud of me!"

Moonpaw twitched her whiskers in amusement. When they had been kits, Thunderpaw had always been competing for their father's attention. He had wanted to be just like the older warrior. Now Thunderpaw was able to do something he enjoyed and would be good at. Moonpaw had seen the determined look in his eyes whenever he was helping treat a wound or sort herbs with Owlfeather. He wanted so badly to be a medicine cat, and now he had that chance.

Thunderpaw looked around. "Have you seen Cinderpaw and Thrushpaw? I want to tell them."

"Cinderpaw's out training with Bloodfang, I think," Moonpaw replied. "I'm not sure where Thrushpaw went. I haven't seen him all day."

Thunderpaw shrugged. "It's fine. He's probably practicing stalking techniques with Duskheart again. All of the mentors seem really desperate to get their apprentices good at hunting. Prey must be really scarce this leaf-bare."

Then he turned and bounded away, slipping inside the medicine den. Moonpaw watched him go, and then went inside the apprentices' den. She had missed out on some sleep last night because a fox had been sighted in the forest again. Patrols had been out until almost dawn keeping watch over the camp, and they had kept disturbing her sleep.

Now Moonpaw was glad she had the chance to curl up and rest. Her leg _was _nearly healed – it was still splayed slightly to the side, but now she could occasionally move it and it wouldn't hurt.

Her dreams were peacefully undisturbed. When she woke, she could hear the hunting patrol coming back. Cries of shock and joy greeted them. Moonpaw stretched and padded out to see what all the trouble was for. She was amazed by what she saw.

The hunting patrol had brought back enough to feed the Clan for the rest of the moon! A few thrushes, three mice, and four squirrels was more than enough for them to eat. Moonpaw saw Thunderpaw running eagerly to greet Mistyfur and tell her his news. A few moments later, she saw Mistyfur purr happily. Moonpaw smiled to herself – however, her happiness was diminished when Barkkit and Sagekit came running up to greet Brightpetal. The ginger she-cat just added like she hadn't seen them, put her prey on the fresh-kill pile, and headed for the warriors' den.

Her kits let out cries of protest, but Lightsong was already emerging from the nursery to see what was wrong. The queen curled her tail around the miserable kits and herded them back into the nursery, murmuring something to them. They seemed to barely hear her, too shocked that their mother hadn't noticed them.

Moonpaw sighed and headed after Brightpetal, catching up with the ginger queen as she slipped inside the warriors' den. "Brightpetal, wait!" She meowed.

Brightpetal turned around, her eyes dull with grief for Blossomkit. "What?"

Moonpaw hesitated, and then spoke. "Would you come for a walk with me? Owlfeather wants me to work on using my injured leg more."

It was a lie, but Brightpetal seemed to accept it. Sighing, she turned and headed for the camp entrance. "Come on, then."

Moonpaw limped after her, more than determined to make her understand her kits' grief. Soon they were out in the forest, and the cool evening breeze ruffled her fur. The sun had almost set, and Brightpetal hadn't said anything yet.

Moonpaw took a deep breath and then said, "You have to stop neglecting your kits!"

Brightpetal stopped and turned her head to look at Moonpaw. "Kits? I have no kits. They're dead."

Moonpaw flattened her ears. "Your kits, Sagekit and Barkkit. Didn't you see them when you returned from the patrol?"

Brightpetal narrowed her eyes. "Oh, them. It doesn't matter. They're still dead to me." Moonpaw opened her jaws to protest, but the ginger queen continued. "They told me that they were the ones who insisted on leaving camp. If it wasn't for them, Blossomkit would still be alive!"

Moonpaw let out an irritated hiss. "I'm sure they're sorry for that, but have you seen them lately? Lightsong can't care for them forever, Brightpetal. Sooner or later, you'll have to face the reality that Blossomkit is dead and isn't coming back!"

The queen curled her lip angrily. "I don't think you heard me clearly. Sagekit and Barkkit are dead to me. I don't care what happens to them. I just know that I never want to see them again."

With that, she turned and ran back to camp, leaving Moonpaw standing alone in the forest, stunned. Had Brightpetal really stopped caring for her kits? She felt a cold weight in her belly as she trudged back towards the camp. What would she tell Lightsong? And what about the kits? How could she tell them that their mother hated them?

Moonpaw's eyes watered as a cold breeze buffeted her face. She shivered as she walked back. Leaf-bare was almost entirely upon them. It wouldn't be long until the ground was covered in soft white snow. The thought almost cheered her up. She and Thunderpaw had been born in late newleaf, and neither of them had seen snow before. The kits would get to see it, too – if they didn't die of neglect first. Moonpaw pushed the thought away as she walked. She was certain she would be able to get Brightpetal to see sense. The queen was just upset that one of her kits had died. Hopefully she would come to her senses soon enough.

_Hope's all we have, _Moonpaw thought bitterly. _StarClan, please help us through this leaf-bare._


	6. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Moonpaw was allowed on patrol the next day, only because Mistyfur had insisted that she went. It was dawn, and soon Thunderpaw would be Owlfeather's apprentice. Moonpaw felt a rush of pride for her brother, but it was quickly diminished as Stormpaw pranced up behind her.

"I heard Thunderpaw's going to be a medicine cat," the gray tom sneered. "Is it true?"

Moonpaw nodded, flicking her tail impatiently.

Stormpaw twitched his whiskers. "How unfortunate. Why would he want to be a lazy medicine cat when he could be a strong, proud, warrior?"

Moonpaw bristled. "Don't talk about him like that! That's what he's happiest doing."

"Like you're any better," Stormpaw purred. "When was the last time you trained with your mentor? You were only an apprentice for two days before you broke your leg and took a few moons off? You're never going to be a warrior, Moonpaw. Face it. But, you know, since the entire Clan still treats you like a precious kit, you probably will, anyways"

Moonpaw flattened her ears as he kept talking.

"And another thing," Stormpaw continued. "When were you planning to get back into training? How do we know you didn't fall out of the tree on purpose? Are you really ready to be an apprentice, Moonkit? Maybe you should just stay in the nursery. You're not useful anywhere else."

With that, he flicked his tail and bounded off towards Clawfang, who was leading the patrol. The apprentice was talking animatedly with the older warrior.

Moonpaw's fur was bristling, and she forced it to lie flat. Stormpaw was still a new apprentice! Why had he said those things to her?

Cinderpaw, who was also on the patrol, seemed to pass by Moonpaw without a glance. The she-cat's amber eyes glowed with excitement, and she seemed to barely be able to keep her mind on hunting.

Forcing herself to keep calm, Moonpaw casually padded up behind Cinderpaw. "What are you so excited about?" She meowed.

Cinderpaw jumped. "Nothing," the apprentice mewed. "I'm just glad Thunderpaw's becoming a medicine cat, that's all."

Moonpaw twitched her whiskers. "Really? That's it?"

Cinderpaw nodded. "Yes, Moonpaw. I'm sorry, but I really have to go." She turned away and bounded to the head of the patrol to join Stormpaw and Clawfang.

Moonpaw was hurt. What could be so important that Cinderpaw wouldn't tell her? She lashed her tail angrily and continued on the patrol, making sure to stay close to the end of it in case Stormpaw decided to talk to her again.

Clawfang had brought them to the stream. It was a river of sorts near the edge of the forest, and a good hunting spot in Greenleaf. But it was leaf-fall now, and there was no point in coming here. Moonpaw could see that the river was nearly frozen over.

Why were they here, then? They wouldn't be able to catch any fish, and there was the danger of falling through the ice. Moonpaw was shocked by what the black tom said next.

"I want everyone to spread out," Clawfang growled. "We're searching for rogues. They are a danger to our Clan, and we must make sure there are none in our territory."

Moonpaw was surprised. Their 'territory' included the entire forest and a little ways beyond. Before they knew it, they'd probably be extending it to the mountains.

Riverstorm padded up beside Clawfang. "I'll take Stormpaw and Moonpaw," he growled. "You can take Cinderpaw and head in the other direction."

Clawfang nodded at the older warrior and flicked his tail to Cinderpaw, who quickly followed him. Moonpaw could see Stormpaw glare at her as he went over to join Riverstorm, but she tried to ignore it.

After they had been walking a while, Stormpaw spoke up. "I think I can scent a rogue," he meowed. Moonpaw braced herself for a stinging insult from him, but when she raised her head to sniff the air she found he was telling the truth.

"Very good," Riverstorm meowed. "From the scent it's probably a she-cat with kits."

Moonpaw flattened her ears. "Why hunt her down, then?"

Stormpaw twitched his whiskers. "We'll lose prey if we don't," he hissed, unsheathing his claws and preparing to fight. When Moonpaw glanced at him, she saw that his fur was fluffed out and his yellow eyes were narrowed angrily.

Riverstorm lifted his muzzle, tasting the air, before angling himself in the right direction. "This way," he hissed. The scent grew stronger as they walked, and at one point Moonpaw thought she could pick up the faint scent of prey.

Stormpaw flicked his tail. "I can see her!" He muttered. Moonpaw followed his gaze and caught a glimpse of black-and-gray tabby fur. Riverstorm pushed through the bushes and soon they found themselves facing a small she-cat. Her fur was short and, as they had seen, black-and-gray with dark stripes. The rogue watched them with wide, dark blue eyes.

"Why are you on our territory?" Riverstorm spat, fluffing out his fur. The she-cat's eyes grew wider.

"I didn't know this was your territory!" She protested. "Please… I have kits to feed." Moonpaw noticed that while the she-cat was unusually skinny, her ribs showing through her fur, her belly was slightly swollen. The rogue started to back away from the patrol.

"Wait!" Stormpaw hissed, darting around behind her and glaring at her, his hackles raised and his ears flat. "We don't tolerate rogues stealing our prey. Why are you even here?"

The she-cat returned his gaze. "I live here, and I intend to stay. If you harm my kits in any way, I will find some way to kill you."

Riverstorm scoffed at her weak threat. "We're taking you with us, and you will come or we will kill you and your kits right here and now."

The she-cat flattened her ears and carefully came forwards, her eyes darting from Riverstorm to Stormpaw. Moonpaw felt a rush of sympathy for the rogue; she didn't look like she was doing any harm. She was just caring for her kits.

When the she-cat had joined them, Moonpaw walked beside her and shot her a reassuring glance. The she-cat returned the look warily before looking ahead of her again.

They didn't have to wait long for Clawfang's patrol. He returned with Cinderpaw almost at once, and his eyes widened at the sight of the rogue queen. "You have a prisoner?"

Stormpaw nodded, his chest puffed out proudly. "She's a queen, too. Maybe we can raise her kits in SunClan – it'll mean more warriors for us."

Clawfang ignored him, instead turning to the queen. "What's your name?"

The rogue looked at her paws. "Stream," she mewed softly. "My mate was named Snow, but he went out looking for prey one night and never came back. I assumed he was dead."

Clawfang turned to Riverstorm, his tail-tip flicking. "Order the patrols to keep an eye out for him just in case. We don't want more rogues wandering around stealing our prey."

The walk back to camp was silent, the only sound coming from piles of leaves crunching under their paws. A strong gust of wind had picked up and Moonpaw had to narrow her eyes against it. Stormpaw's thick fur was fluffed out and he didn't seem to have any of his arrogant pride from earlier. Silver, on the other hand, was shivering, her gaze fixed on the ground below her. All of a sudden, Clawfang stopped the patrol and lifted his muzzle to check the air.

"I can smell Twolegs," he growled. "Let's go. We need to make it back to camp before they find us." Sure enough, the scent of Twolegs was fresh on the air, and growing steadily stronger.

Moonpaw tried to walk faster, but her leg was still stiff and sore, and she stumbled slightly when Clawfang picked up the pace. She struggled to heave herself to her paws, but Stormpaw came over and sank his teeth into her scruff, helping her up. "We need to go," he hissed. "At least try to walk faster, Moonpaw." He cast a scornful gaze at her as he said it.

Moonpaw licked her jaws nervously, realizing what he meant. She was named after the moon, something important to all cats. Her name implied she was somewhat better than the other cats.

_It's not my fault! _Moonpaw thought angrily. She tried to focus on scenting prey on the way back to camp, but her scent glands were flooded with the Twoleg stench. She quickened her pace and fell into step beside Stream, matching the queen's pace. A thrush flew between two trees above their heads, and Moonpaw felt another surge of anger as she remembered that she was completely useless. Not for the first time, she found herself wishing that she'd gone for easier prey during that first day in the Oak Clearing.

She couldn't help but notice that the forest was eerily silent. Clawfang pressed them to go faster, and Moonpaw felt that she wouldn't be back in camp in time for Thunderpaw's ceremony. However, they were back by sunhigh; Goldenstar was just getting ready to call a meeting.

Heads turned in their direction as they led Stream into camp. A few cats looked astonished that there was a rogue in their camp; only Lightsong was brave enough to go up to the queen and help her find somewhere to sit. Sagekit and Barkkit huddled close to her paws, shivering from the bitter chill that seemed to fill the entire camp.

Goldenstar raised his head and yowled for SunClan to gather. Immediately, they came towards the Hightree. Riverstorm and Moonpaw went over to sit with Mistyfur. Thunderpaw was waiting near the base of the Hightree while Owlfeather sat a little ways away, watching Thunderpaw proudly.

Then Owlfeather stepped forwards. The Clan was completely silent as they watched. "Cats of SunClan," the medicine cat began, "it is time I chose an apprentice. This is not only because of the threat of leaf-bare, but because Thunderpaw shows the qualities a medicine cat needs. He is compassionate and dedicated to his work, and I do not doubt that he will serve and protect his Clan well in his many seasons as a medicine cat, even after I am gone."

Goldenstar met Thunderpaw's gaze. "Thunderpaw, do you accept the position of Owlfeather's apprentice?"

"I do." There was no mistaking the sincerity of Thunderpaw's tone.

Owlfeather nodded. "StarClan accepts you as my apprentice, and so do I. I look forwards to many moons of training you." She reached forwards to gently touch noses with Thunderpaw. "We welcome you as the new medicine cat apprentice of SunClan."

All of the gathered cats started to cheer Thunderpaw's name. Moonpaw purred and rushed up to her brother when Owlfeather had stepped back, rubbing her muzzle against his shoulder. "You're a medicine cat now," she meowed, stepping back. Thunderpaw twitched his whiskers at her.

Cinderpaw and Mistyfur came to congratulate him next. Cinderpaw purred and licked his cheek, her eyes warm. Thunderpaw returned her warm gaze, and Moonpaw felt her fur prick uncomfortably. She backed away and headed for the apprentices' den, intending to sleep, when Goldenstar called again for the Clan to be silent.

"As you may know, Clawfang's patrol brought back a rogue they found in our territory," their leader meowed, his tail twitching. "I have decided to let her stay here, at least until she has kitted." He looked at Stream. "You will stay in the nursery with Lightsong, but I ask that you are prepared for being asked to leave SunClan. Over time, though, you may one day receive a warrior name."

Stream nodded respectfully and looked at Lightsong gratefully. The ginger queen returned the gaze, her eyes glowing. She was close to kitting, perhaps a few moons away. While new kits were good for the Clan, it wouldn't do them any good to be born in leaf-bare. Owlfeather and Thunderpaw would probably have enough illnesses to deal with, and since herb supplies were running low, sick cats would have to be separated.

For the first time, Moonpaw understood why Clawfang wanted the rogues off their territory. They could be stealing herbs or prey, both of which were vital to the Clan.

Moonpaw pushed the thought away as she met Stormpaw's eyes for a heartbeat. He narrowed his eyes at her before turning his attention back to Goldenstar.

"I would like an increase in patrols," Goldenstar went on. "Clawfang, you will be in charge of organizing the territory patrols. They will be responsible for searching the territory thoroughly and reporting any rogue sightings. Silverfrost will organize the regular hunting patrols."

Clawfang nodded, his gaze flicking to Silverfrost before it started wandering around the clearing. The warrior was probably already trying to decide which cats would be good for a territory patrol.

"I want the training of our apprentices to increase as well," Goldenstar meowed. "Moonpaw, I know your leg is still healing, but I want you to at least practice with Swiftwing every day. Leopardfrost, Doveflight, and Hollowstep will monitor the training of Stormpaw and Icepaw. Honeyshade, you have no apprentice now, so you will be able to help with Moonpaw's training. Bloodfang, Duskheart, and Mistyfur will train Cinderpaw and Thrushpaw."

Moonpaw felt a wave of embarrassment sweep over her as Stormpaw flashed a look of triumph at her. Goldenstar had singled her out in front of the Clan and basically said that he didn't want her to be a burden on the Clan. Moonpaw lowered her head and gave her chest fur a few brisk licks.

"One more thing," Goldenstar continued. "I would like a few cats to be responsible for helping Owlfeather and Thunderpaw with gathering herbs. Brightpetal, Emberwing, you will help with the regular medicine cat duties and will be left out from patrols."

The two she-cats, sitting close together, exchanged a glance. Emberwing, the youngest warrior in the Clan at the moment, was obviously confused that Brightpetal wasn't in the nursery with Sagekit and Barkkit, but when the kits let out mewls of protest, Brightpetal didn't even move. She just continued to watch Goldenstar as he leapt down from the Hightree and slipped into his den between the tree's roots.

Moonpaw sighed and trudged over to the apprentices' den. Thrushpaw came up beside her and nosed her shoulder gently. "You're lucky you get to go back to training," he purred. "At least now you can help hunt for the Clan."

Moonpaw was about to reply when Stormpaw brushed past her, pushing her aside roughly as he slipped inside the den. She remained silent as she curled up in her nest and closed her eyes. For once, she hoped that Bramblefang would visit her in a dream tonight. She just needed someone to talk to.


	7. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

Bramblefang was in her dreams, but there was another cat with him – a white she-cat. "My name is Icefall," the she-cat meowed. "Normally I wouldn't visit cats in dreams, but Bramblefang brought me. He hoped I could help explain what happened to the Clans."

Moonpaw narrowed her eyes at Bramblefang. "This again? I thought we went over this. I have nothing to do with the prophecy."

Icefall flicked her ears. "Just let me explain. The original four Clans were ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, and WindClan. Many of them were being trained by evil cats, and there was a battle. Many cats died, and the Clans were broken. A few cats tried to rebuild the Clans, but it failed and they decided to merge into two Clans – MarshClan and ForestClan."

"Which Clan were you?" Moonpaw asked.

"Both." Icefall looked at the ground. "My mother fell in love with a ForestClan tom, and had three kits – me and my siblings. Eventually, the rest of the cats in the two Clans found out, and drove us away. When we came back, the Clans had split into four again, and had decided to move and find a new home. They traveled for a long time, but they did find territory, and they became one Clan, SunClan. You already know the rest."

Bramblefang turned to look at Moonpaw. "You need to let the other cats in the prophecy know what is coming. You should already know who they are – Bloodfang, Duskheart, and Icepaw."

Moonpaw let out an irritated hiss. "I don't want any part in this! SunClan is doing fine. We'll have new kits in the Clan soon, and we have two medicine cats now."

"Fine," Icefall growled. "Stay ignorant and refuse to help us. But remember that we will come back to you, Moonpaw. You can't keep us away that easily."

She lashed her tail and Moonpaw's dream faded until she was blinking sleep-encrusted eyes into bright sunlight. Stormpaw was waking up, too, but he was the only other apprentice in the den.

Moonpaw left the den quickly, since she didn't want Stormpaw to bother her anymore. When she came out into the middle of camp, Clawfang was already organizing the territory patrols. Hollowstep, Doveflight, and Icepaw were already getting ready to leave for training.

Then she saw Brightpetal walk over to where Owlfeather was waiting to go out and gather herbs, and heard Barkkit cry out in protest. Once again, Moonpaw felt sorry for the poor kits. Every day, they had to live with knowing that their mother hated them.

"Moonpaw!" Swiftwing was calling her. "We're going out to train soon," he meowed. "Find Stormpaw and Cinderpaw; they can come, too."

Thunderpaw bounded out of the medicine den. "Could I come?" He asked. "I'd be with your group and I would still be able to gather herbs."

Swiftwing sighed. "Fine," he meowed. "I'll bring Emberwing, too, so she can help you."

Moonpaw turned around to face the apprentices' den, but Stormpaw was already standing there. "Did you need me?" He purred. "Or were you just running away from me?"

Moonpaw narrowed her eyes. "Swiftwing wants us and Cinderpaw for training, if you needed to know."

Stormpaw flicked his ears. "Sure. I think I saw Cinderpaw go through the dirtplace tunnel. She'll be back soon enough."

They met up with Cinderpaw on their way out of camp, and soon they were heading for the Oak Clearing. The air didn't smell the same to Moonpaw; it smelled wet and cold.

"We'll start by seeing how well you can catch prey," Swiftwing announced. "But remember, don't climb any trees! We don't need any more injuries."

Stormpaw smirked at Moonpaw before stalking off to hunt for prey. Moonpaw forced her bristling fur to lie flat and went pointedly in the other direction, sniffing for a hint of prey.

She spotted a flash of brown in the leaves, and quickly dropped into an awkward crouch, her injured leg sticking out slightly to the side. As best as she could, she crept forwards on three legs towards the mouse, her ears pricked.

At the last moment, she pounced, and though her leap sent her sideways, she managed to catch the mouse in her claws. Quickly, she pulled it towards her and bit its neck. Immediately, it was limp in her jaws. Moonpaw purred slightly to herself and scraped away a bit of dirt to bury the mouse.

A rustling in the bushes caught her attention; Moonpaw stepped away from the mouse and cautiously crept forwards and poked her muzzle through the bushes. A squirrel was scuffling around for food. Moonpaw crouched again and leapt, but she misjudged the jump and landed on the ground while the squirrel scampered off into the undergrowth.

After a while she heard Swiftwing call for them to come back. Moonpaw picked up her prey, the mouse and a small pigeon, and padded back to the Oak Clearing.

Stormpaw scoffed at her small catch. "That's it?" He mewed through the mouthful of prey he was carrying. He dropped it on the ground – two mice, a squirrel, and a small vole.

Swiftwing glared at him. "She's still injured, Stormpaw. It's not her fault her hunting technique isn't perfect yet."

Stormpaw spat crossly and looked away, lashing his tail.

A few moments later, Cinderpaw ran up, her fur fluffed out and her eyes wide. She was carrying two plump mice. "I found them eating under one of the trees," she meowed breathlessly, dropping them at Swiftwing's paws.

Swiftwing nodded. "Very good, all of you. Stormpaw, Cinderpaw, I want you to help Moonpaw with her hunting crouch. I need to go find one of the territory patrols and check something with them. If you need anything, Emberwing and Thunderpaw are only a little ways away."

He turned and bounded off, leaving Moonpaw alone with the other two apprentices. Stormpaw twitched his whiskers. "I guess we'd better get started," he purred. "Let's see your crouch."

Moonpaw obeyed grudgingly, dropping down into the hunters' crouch.

Cinderpaw came closer. "You're holding yourself funny," she commented. "You're not putting your leg on the ground right."

"It hurts when I do," Moonpaw explained, flicking her ears and straightening up.

"Then ignore it," Stormpaw growled. "Have you tried stretching it yet?"

Moonpaw clenched her jaw. "It _hurts_," she protested, but she reluctantly stretched out her injured leg, supressing a cry of pain as she felt the stiff muscles begin to move.

Stormpaw purred. "That's better, isn't it? Now try the crouch again."

Sighing, Moonpaw dropped into a crouch, trying her best to straighten her leg out so she could get it right.

"It looks better," Cinderpaw mewed. Stormpaw nodded.

"Could we try fighting next?" Cinderpaw asked, looking at Stormpaw. "Clawfang said we might need to practice in case we get invaded by rogues."

Stormpaw shrugged. "Sure." He walked around until he was facing Moonpaw and met her gaze. "Moonpaw, attack me."

Moonpaw didn't hesitate. She leapt at him, using her good hind leg to help push off. Stormpaw reared up to meet her, but Moonpaw twisted to one side, landing on her bad leg. She grimaced but quickly scrambled back up as Stormpaw gathered himself to aim at her, and ran around while he was leaping at her to land on his back and pin him to the ground.

Stormpaw grunted and shook her off. "Not bad. Cinderpaw, you try now."

Cinderpaw leapt straight at him, but due to her smaller size he was quickly able to knock her back. She was on the ground in no time, staring up at Stormpaw with wide eyes.

The younger tom stepped off her. "Strength isn't everything," he meowed. "You need to learn to use your size to your advantage."

Moonpaw scoffed. "Are you quoting Clawfang on that?"

Stormpaw turned on her with a growl. "So what if I am? Is there anything wrong with getting advice from SunClan's senior warriors?"

Moonpaw narrowed her eyes and jumped on him. Stormpaw grunted and raked her shoulder with unsheathed claws, hissing angrily. He kicked at her injured leg, knocking her off and quickly pinning her down. Moonpaw struggled to breathe as he pressed his paws against her chest, but he suddenly stopped.

"Don't do that again," he growled, stepping back. Moonpaw leapt to her paws, fur bristling, before turning and running back to camp. She could hear Cinderpaw mewing something to Stormpaw as she left.

Moonpaw didn't stop to listen. She kept running through the forest until she made it to the camp entrance and pushed through the bushes that helped to partially conceal it. Thrushpaw was in camp; he immediately looked up as she entered.

"What's wrong?" He meowed, flicking an ear. "Are you okay? Did you meet up with some rogues?"

Moonpaw shook her head and leaned against him, too tired to explain. Thrushpaw licked her ear comfortingly and stepped back to look at her. "Why did you run back as though a whole pack of foxes were after you?"

"I fought with Stormpaw," she muttered. "I'm fine, just a little shaken up."

Thrushpaw sighed and licked her ear again. "You'd better rest. I'll see you later."

Moonpaw nodded and went off to the apprentices' den, but stopped just before she was in her nest. She shouldn't have run away from Stormpaw – that was just cowardice. What he'd said was right – there was no shame in taking advice from warriors.

Taking a deep breath, Moonpaw turned around and started to go back the way she'd come, hoping that the others were still there.

They were, of course. Cinderpaw was pacing worriedly, and Stormpaw actually looked worried, too. Swiftwing was there, too; he seemed to be lecturing Stormpaw.

"I wasn't trying to hurt her!" The gray tabby was saying. "She attacked me first. I was just stopping her from doing any damage."

Moonpaw winced as she remembered the pain that had shot up her leg when he'd kicked at it. It was still slightly sore now. Then she limped towards them. Swiftwing looked up as she approached, and she heard Cinderpaw let out a sigh of relief.

Swiftwing wasn't so glad. "What were you thinking?" He hissed. His eyes were narrowed and his fur was bristling slightly. "For one, Moonpaw, you shouldn't attack your Clanmates. I don't care what he was saying. We can't afford this during leaf-bare! This is one of the worst I've seen so far." The warrior's tail lashed as he continued. "And another thing – running off like that was dangerous. The territory patrols are still searching for rogues, and you never know what could be out there. You could have been attacked or killed. I don't want to see you doing anything like that again."

Moonpaw nodded meekly and risked a glance at Stormpaw. For once, he didn't smirk at her. Instead, he padded over to her and brushed his muzzle against her flank. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just surprised."

Moonpaw nodded, flicking an ear at him. "I'm fine," she meowed. "Are we continuing with training?"

Swiftwing pricked his ears, overhearing her. "No," he replied. "We're getting ready to head back, actually. It's too cold out here to stand around training for too long. Thunderpaw and Emberwing have gathered all the herbs they could find."

As if on cue, the two cats came to meet them, herbs piled in their jaws. Thunderpaw spat his bundle onto the ground. "We found a bit of burdock root, chervil, and some poppy seeds," he reported. "We'll need help carrying it back, though. My jaws already ache."

Cinderpaw purred and bent her head to pick up some of the herbs. "We'd better get back to camp quickly. It's well past sunhigh already."

Emberwing nodded, dropping some of her herbs on the ground for Swiftwing to pick up. They went back to camp in silence, ears pricked for any unusual movement in the forest. The walk back was fairly peaceful, punctuated by an occasional squirrel rustling through leaves.

Then Moonpaw realized something. "Swiftwing," she hissed to her mentor. "We didn't take back any of the prey we caught."

"You and Stormpaw can go back for it," the warrior meowed around the herbs in his jaws. "Just remember to be careful, and no fighting."

Moonpaw nodded and flicked her tail to Stormpaw. The gray tabby trailed after her as she retraced their pawsteps back to the Oak Clearing. Surprisingly, Stormpaw didn't taunt her or snap at her. He stayed silent the entire time.

It didn't take long for them to dig up the prey they had buried. Moonpaw picked up a few pieces, and Stormpaw took the rest. They had barely taken a few pawsteps when something drifted down from the sky and landed on Moonpaw's nose.

She squealed, so surprised she dropped the prey she was carrying. Stormpaw purred and set his load down more gently.

The thing that had fallen onto her nose was already gone. Moonpaw tilted her head slightly, confused, as she saw more of the cold white flakes falling from the sky.

Stormpaw flicked an ear at her. "I think it's snow," he meowed.

Moonpaw purred as she stretched up and caught one between her paws. When she tried to look at it, it was gone, too, leaving a speck of icy water on her paw-pads. "It's cold," she mewed, twisting her head around to lick a few more off her fur.

"We'd better get this prey back to camp," Stormpaw noted, bending his head to pick up his load again. Moonpaw nodded and fetched hers, still shocked that it was snowing.

It didn't take long to get back to camp. They made it back quickly, without any inconveniences again. Swiftwing was waiting for them at the camp entrance. "Good," the black-and-white warrior meowed. "You can put that on the fresh-kill pile and take something for yourselves."

Moonpaw nodded gratefully and followed Stormpaw to the small pile of prey near the center of camp. The elders and queens must have already been fed, or Swiftwing would have asked that they took prey to them first.

"Do you want to eat together?" Stormpaw asked, picking out two mice from the pile. Moonpaw nodded reluctantly, wondering why he was being so nice all of a sudden.

They took the prey over to the entrance of the apprentices' den, where they sat and ate. Moonpaw hungrily tore a large bite out of her mouse – she hadn't eaten for a while. Stormpaw twitched his whiskers in amusement, but said nothing.

Thrushpaw had settled down with a pigeon near where they were eating, and Moonpaw noticed that he was watching them, his eyes blazing with some emotion she couldn't recognize. Her fur pricked uncomfortably, and she tore her gaze away from the ginger apprentice, watching Stormpaw instead. The gray apprentice's eyes were warm and friendly, not like the angry glares he had shot her when they had first started training together.

When they had finished eating, Stormpaw moved closer to her and started grooming her. Moonpaw half-closed her eyes as he washed her back with long, soothing strokes, hoping that the sudden snowfall wouldn't be a huge threat to their Clan.


	8. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Moonpaw woke up the next morning to find that Cinderpaw had disappeared from her nest. This was unusual, since Cinderpaw usually slept in, and training didn't begin this early.

Moonpaw slowly crept out of her own nest, being careful not to disturb Stormpaw, who had fallen asleep beside her. She smiled slightly as she remembered what had happened last night, and bent down to gently lick his ear.

Then she padded outside, and was almost blinded by what she saw. Thick layers of white snow had coated the ground overnight. Moonpaw could see tracks leading away from the apprentices' den towards an area across the camp.

Confused, Moonpaw followed them. They were undoubtedly Cinderpaw's, since none of the other apprentices were awake. Close to the medicine den, another set of tracks joined Cinderpaw's, following them closely to where Cinderpaw had been headed.

Moonpaw lifted her head to check the air. She could smell the crisp, cold air of leaf-bare, but there were two other scents there, too – Cinderpaw's and Thunderpaw's.

Moonpaw's fur pricked as she crept closer to where the two apprentices had been headed. Then she looked at where they were, and was shocked.

Cinderpaw was purring and sharing tongues with Thunderpaw, occasionally pausing to lick his muzzle. Thunderpaw was doing the same.

"What are you doing?" Moonpaw hissed. Cinderpaw and Thunderpaw stopped immediately and sprang to their paws, looking at her with wide eyes.

"We're not hurting anyone!" Thunderpaw protested.

"You're hurting yourself," Moonpaw spat. "You're a medicine cat, Thunderpaw. Medicine cats can't fall in love!"

Cinderpaw narrowed her eyes. "That's too bad," she hissed. "You can't stop us, and neither can the warrior code."

Moonpaw flattened her ears. "Look at what happened to Swiftwing and Honeyshade's mother! I don't want to see my brother and my best friend killed for something as foolish as this!"

Cinderpaw lashed her tail. "That won't happen. If any other cat finds out, we'll just leave."

Moonpaw huffed. "Fine, then. Don't expect me to help you when you're driven out."

Then she turned and headed back across camp. Silverfrost had just come out of the warriors' den and was standing at the entrance, blinking a few times to adjust to the bright light that reflected off the snow.

"Do you need anything, Moonpaw?" The deputy meowed.

Moonpaw flicked her ears. "I was wondering if I could go on a territory patrol," she replied. It wasn't a complete lie, after all – she wanted to know if there were any other rogue sightings.

Silverfrost shrugged. "Sorry, that's up to Clawfang, not me. You can ask him when he's awake."

Moonpaw sighed and half-heartedly pawed at some snow. It wouldn't be any use sending out lots of hunting patrols today, since the snow would be trapping the prey in their burrows. The Clan would likely go hungry today.

"Why don't you go see if any of the other apprentices are awake?" Silverfrost suggested. "I'm going to check on the queens."

Moonpaw wondered if Silverfrost didn't trust Stream, but she didn't say it out loud. Instead, she went back to the apprentices' den, pausing at the entrance. "I think Cinderpaw and Thunderpaw are awake," she meowed bitterly. Silverfrost meowed a reply and Moonpaw went inside the den.

Thrushpaw was awake, licking at his slightly ruffled fur, and Stormpaw and Icepaw were beginning to stir. Moonpaw stepped closer to Thrushpaw. "Silverfrost wanted to know if you were awake," she mewed quietly.

Thrushpaw's ears pricked and he looked up. "Why?"

Moonpaw shook her head. "No reason. I'm not actually sure why."

Thrushpaw finished grooming and stood up. "She probably just wants to send more of us out on patrol," he sighed. "I had to go out on territory patrol yesterday, and it was a complete waste of time. We didn't even catch a whiff of a rogue."

Moonpaw twitched her whiskers. "I think that there will only be room for hunting patrols today. Have you looked outside?"

Thrushpaw frowned slightly and followed her as she stepped outside the den. He drew in a breath at the sight of the snow. "It snowed," he meowed blankly, blinking at the sight of the soft white powder.

Moonpaw purred. "Of course it did, mouse-brain! Didn't you see the snow last night?"

Thrushpaw nodded and looked away. "Yes," he replied. "I must not have noticed it."

Moonpaw flicked her tail and turned back to the apprentices' den. Icepaw and Stormpaw had woken up by now. Icepaw yawned and stretched. "What does Silverfrost want with us?" He asked.

"No reason," Moonpaw repeated. "She just wanted me to check if you were awake. It snowed, by the way."

"It did?" Icepaw scrambled to his paws and darted outside. A few moments later he poked his muzzle back in, whiskers quivering with excitement. "It snowed!" He yowled happily. "Stormpaw, you have to come see this!"

Then he ran back out. Stormpaw purred and came to stand beside Moonpaw, pausing to lick her cheek before he went outside to meet his brother. Moonpaw was touched by the gesture, but it made her thoughts drift back to Thunderpaw and Cinderpaw.

"Moonpaw, I need to talk to you." She glanced up to see Bloodfang coming out of the warriors' den. Moonpaw blinked in confusion before going over to meet him.

"I had a dream last night," Bloodfang meowed hesitantly. "I was visited by a strange cat from StarClan – a she-cat named Oliveleaf. She said I was part of a prophecy, and she said that I could talk to you about it."

Moonpaw sighed. "It's nothing, Bloodfang. It doesn't matter."

Bloodfang narrowed his eyes. "It has to mean something. Only medicine cats get dreams from StarClan, and even that's rare. If you know what's going on, just tell me!"

"It's complicated," Moonpaw began. "Around a moon ago, I was visited by a StarClan cat, Bramblefang. He told me that I was part of a prophecy – one that also involved you, Duskheart, and Icepaw. Then, a few nights ago, I was visited again by Bramblefang and another cat, Icefall. They tried to tell me about the prophecy again, but I… ignored them. That's probably why they sent the dream to you."

Bloodfang stared at her in amazement. "So it's true?"

"No, it's not!" Moonpaw hissed. "There's no meaning behind any of their prophecies. StarClan rarely speaks to us. It was probably just your imagination."

Bloodfang opened his jaws to say more, but they were interrupted by Goldenstar's familiar meow. The leader was calling a meeting.

Curiously, the SunClan cats began to seep out of their dens, most of them letting out astonished meows when they saw the snow. Goldenstar was already waiting for them to gather below the Highbranch.

"We are gathered here today to witness an important ceremony," he meowed when most of them were looking at him. "Sagekit, Barkkit, please come forwards."

The two kits stepped to the front of the crowd hesitantly, looking slightly shocked that they were becoming apprentices.

"From now on, until you earn your warrior names, you will be known as Sagepaw and Barkpaw," Goldenstar continued. "Tigerblaze, you are ready for an apprentice. You will be Sagepaw's mentor. I hope you will pass down all your knowledge to her. Honeyshade, you will be mentor to Barkpaw. You taught Thunderpaw well when he was in training to become a warrior, and that is why I am entrusting Barkpaw's training to you."

"Sagepaw! Barkpaw!" The Clan began the traditional call. Moonpaw joined in as the apprentices touched noses with their mentors.

When the ceremony was over, cats began to return to their duties. Stormpaw brushed against Moonpaw as she turned to pad away. "Do you want to go hunting with me?" He murmured.

Moonpaw nodded. "Sure. Let's just clear it with Silverfrost first." The deputy was organizing cats into the day's hunting patrols.

Stormpaw purred. "I already cleared it with her. Come on, we might be able to catch something in all this snow."

Moonpaw blinked gratefully at him and licked his shoulder before following him out of camp. She could feel Sagepaw's eyes on her, and knew the gray apprentice was disappointed; perhaps she had been hoping that Brightpetal would be her mentor. Moonpaw had no time to dwell on the thought, since as soon as they were out of camp, Stormpaw jumped at her, sending her into a snowdrift.

She sat up, shaking white clumps from her whiskers and fur, and batted some snow back at him. Stormpaw purred and returned the gesture. They kept walking; but when they had gone out a little ways, Stormpaw pricked his ears. "I can hear something," he growled. "We'd better report this to Clawfang."

Moonpaw felt her heart sink as he ran off. He still seemed to idolize Clawfang. Was Stormpaw being nice to her for show? So he could show off to the older warrior? Upset, she turned to follow his tracks back to camp, but stopped when she heard another noise.

Something jumped out of the bushes at her and pinned her to the ground. She writhed and struggled as large paws pushed against her shoulders, forcing her to stay down. Panicking, Moonpaw thrashed and clawed the strange cat's leg. It hissed, but didn't loosen its grip, and instead lowered its head to bite her shoulder.

Moonpaw yowled in pain as the strange cat continued to attack her. As her vision faded, she felt the weight lift off her back, and caught a glimpse of dark fur as it walked away.


End file.
